Fitzwilliam Art Museum in Cambridge

On a very rainy day out, we decided to go to the Fitzwilliam Museum with some friends.  There I learned a wonderful piece of information about England---museums are free here!  In NM, we were members of the Museum of Natural History so we wouldn't have to pay every time we went, but still the membership was costly, and we had to pay for Explora (the Children's science museum) and the NM Art Museum every time we went, so we ended up going to the Natural History Museum more than the others.  Here, they are all free!  You can click on the Natural History Museum link to go to one of my previous blogs about the girls at that museum.

The Fitzwilliam was interesting because it had art exhibits, treasure exhibits, an ancient Egypt exhibit, and these giant lions outside!

Ben, Sophia, Tessa, and Joe

There was a giant puddle right in front of them that was oh so tempting!

walking through cambridge

We walked past the river to get back to the car and had to check this out for awhile!  You can see the punts behind the waterfall...not many people renting them out on such a rainy day!

Joe, his mother Naomi, Tessa and I get a closer look at the water.

An interesting tree on the way home--its camoflauge bark reminded us of Daddy!

Mock Deployment

While Chuckolate was deployed, one of the services that the base offered was a mock deployment for the children.  Basically, the kids walked through the deployment line, similar to what their deployed parent did before leaving, getting paperwork filled out and receiving various briefings about their upcoming trip.  To a four year old, it was confusing and Tessa couldn't understand why they kept talking about this place we were going to (with a beach and water slides and lots of fun things to do!), when mommy kept telling her that we were just pretending to go.  To a seven year old, Sophia got it but I'm not sure how interesting she found it.  A lot of the information given was clever/amusing on an adult level, but definitely over the girls' heads. 

Ready to report for duty!

Me too!

In typical military fashion, we had to be there at a certain time and then wait, and wait, and wait some more.  We waited about 20 minutes at the first place, then took a bus to another building where they left us in a room with nothing to do for an hour!  If we were within a 20 minute walk of our car, I'm sure I would have left by that point.  But we weren't.  So we waited.  Having the kids dress up like Daddy was cute and they ended up thinking the whole thing was great because they were given candy and when we got back to the first building, face painting tables and bouncy castles were set up.  However, the police dogs, fire engines, and other exhibits for us to see had already left.  They didn't want to wait around an extra hour, I imagine.

Going down the deployment line

Waiting for her stamps and candy but not understanding any of the explanations given to her.

Tessa in a gas mask

Sophia in a gas mask

They liked the dressing up part!

And the candy!

More waiting?  Of course!

Tessa's heart painting

She asked for a spiral and a heart, but the girl didn't quite understand.  Tessa was just as happy with a spring though!

Sophia's squirrel

Sophia's tree

Mildenhall Village Playground

One day in August, we met up with some friends at the playground in Mildenhall.  We had a picnic and played for awhile, then went to the base to watch a movie, play at an indoor playground, and have dinner!  It was a busy, fun day.  The little girl was one of Sophia's friends at preschool in NM, that moved here with her family at the beginning of the summer.  It is nice to be able to meet up with them occasionally.  Our families all get along well, and I think the girls like having a friend from their preschool days (even though I'm not sure they really remembered each other when we first bumped into them!)

Tessa enjoys a big swing when she doesn't have to worry about anyone pushing it too fast!

Aahhh...a little too fast!

She decided to give me a turn.

Katelynn, Tessa, and Sophia

Katelynn and Sophia liked to go fast!

Windswept Tessa

Riding lessons and Abbey Gardens in Bury St. Edmunds (part 2!)

Due to a cowgirl boot malfunction, our day out after riding was cut short the previous week, so we decided to bring a picnic this time and try it again!

First the girls spent some time with Bambi, the new mascot at Sophia's riding school.  She is a miniature horse and won't get any bigger!

Tessa thinks Bambi is just the right size for her!

Sophia is practising standing up in the saddle.

Finally, a picture with Tutu!  I think she was avoiding the camera this trip!

Tessa showing off her multi-coloured fingernails while watching her sister ride.

The girls at Abbey Gardens again!

Getting our picnic ready...

Sophia with the cathedral behind her

Sophia on top of a wall!

Sophia sitting on the bridge while Tessa jumps!

This time we were able to check out the tree house, since Sophia had shoes on!

Tessa can climb too!

I LOVE this picture of her!

Ta-da!

I'll hold you, sis!

Whoa, this is a little scary!  Sophia is not impressed, however.

The cathedral and an interesting group of people that I couldn't crop out of my photo.

Reading the plaques about the history of the abbey.

Whooooooooooo!

I was very tempted to leave them there for awhile!  They thought this room made a good little house.

Grumpy because Mommy wouldn't let her climb to the highest point on the rocks.

Another cathedral view

 Then, we stopped by the bike shop again where Tutu bought Tessa the bike that she still insisted was the best bike ever!  Tutu even got her a pink basket and tassels, to make it really perfect!  Now, Tessa can have her little bike stay attached to my bike, but she has a big bike to practice on her own (with training wheels/stabilizers, of course)!